TUESDAYS WITH WRITERS

simple way to writing: First Tuesday, 7 pm, the South Mill, Lincoln: could it be? YES!! Tuesdays with Writers!

The facts, and nothing..

Looking for a get-together of Lincoln-area writers? Once a month, the first Tuesday at 7 pm, come to the South Mill Coffee Shop, at 4736 Prescott, Lincoln, NE. We'll be here, with readers and coffee, and conversation .....

Michelle Menting grew up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan and now lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she teaches English 254 at UNL . Her work appears in Boxcar Poetry Review, The Pedestal Magazine, Diagram, and other literary journals. She is happy to now live in a place that actually experiences the season of spring.

Grace Bauer was born and raised in Pennsylvania, but has lived in New Orleans, Montana, Virginia, and Massachusetts. Bauer earned a BA in journalism from Temple University and an MFA in poetry from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her full-length collections of poetry include The Women at The Well (1996), Beholding Eye (2006), and Retreats and Recognitions (2007).Her work has been published in numerous anthologies and journals including Arts & Letters, the Colorado Review, Poetry, Rattle, and the Southern Poetry Review. Her awards include an Academy of American Poets Prize, Individual Artist’s Grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the Nebraska Arts Council, and fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center.Bauer is currently a senior book prize reader for Prairie Schooner and the coordinator of creative writing at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, where she has been teaching since 1994.

Laura Madeline Wiseman is the author of Some Fatal Effects of Curiosity and Disobedience (Lavender Ink, 2014),Queen of the Platform (Anaphora Literary Press, 2013), Sprung (San Francisco Bay Press, 2012), and the collaborative book Intimates and Fools(Les Femmes Folles Books, 2014) with artist Sally Deskins, as well as two letterpress books, and eight chapbooks, including Spindrift(Dancing Girl Press, 2014). She is also the editor of Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence(Hyacinth Girl Press, 2013).She has a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in English and a M.A. from the University of Arizona in women's studies.

TUESDAYS WITH WRITERS BRINGS WRITERS TO WRITERS

(from the Daily Nebraskan, February 2nd, 2005)The scent of coffee filled the air and welcomed spectators to a poetry reading. The Mill’s south location at 4736 Prescott Ave. hosts a poetry reading for poets called Tuesdays with Writer’s the first Tuesday of every month. “I went to a poetry reading in Boulder, (Colo.) and then one in Minnesota and later in New York,” said Deborah McGinn, teacher of creative writing at Lincoln High School and organizer of Tuesdays with Writer’s. “Poetry has a real performance quality to it,” she said. Tuesdays with Writer’s started six years ago this July and promotes the poetic talent of the Lincoln area. McGinn has had to move her project to several areas to find the right fit, but said she feels she has found a great place with the Mill’s southern location. A selected poet reads his or her poetry for about 40 minutes and then the microphone is open to the public. “There seems to be a few writers who get all the attention and I know there’s more talent in Lincoln,” McGinn said. “I like to be all inclusive. I believe in the young voice, they work just as hard.” Although McGinn encourages younger generations to perform their poetry and express their talents, she also gives older writers the opportunity to have their voice heard. Tuesday’s performance served as a perfect example.

Edgar Clemens, a retired University of Nebraska-Lincoln animal science professor, performed his “cowboy” poetry to a full Mill crowd. “I started writing poetry after I went to a cowboy poetry reading in Valentine,” Clemens said. “I went to a poetry workshop at Gere Library and Rex Walton said he liked my stuff and asked if I’d be interested.” Walton is an avid supporter and some-time reader at Tuesdays with Writer’s. Clemens played a harmonica before reciting his poetry and wove his tales of boys getting into mischief and cowboys on the trail, taking his audience back to the Old West Nebraska once knew. His poetry represented Midwestern values, as his narrative remained straightforward and honest. The warmth and hometown feel of The Mill provided a perfect atmosphere for the event and complimented Clemens poems nicely. “I really like having it at The Mill,” said McGinn. “Its such a non-pretentious environment.” Tuesdays with Writer’s will have an anniversary special in July and welcomes poets of any kind to come and share their creativity. “You have a chance to come here and be recognized,” said Walton.